The present invention is directed to hunting apparel, and in particular, to a reversible elasticized band having hunter""s orange material on one side and a camouflage material on the other side, the band adapted to be worn on the arm or other body part of a hunter.
Local hunting laws require hunters to wear hunter orange apparel while hunting. The apparel can take the form of a vest, a hat, a jacket, pants, or the like. Certain garments incorporate patches of hunter orange in the garment itself.
Besides wearing hunter orange apparel, the area of hunter orange material must also meet hunting laws. For example, in Alabama, the hunter orange apparel must be at least 144 square inches.
One problem with wearing hunter apparel is that some hunters only wish to wear the orange during the actual hunt, and do not care to wear the orange when not hunting, e.g., traveling to or leaving the hunt area. The presently available apparel does not leave the hunter much option in easily removing the hunter orange apparel.
Thus, a need exists for improved hunter orange hunting apparel that facilitates the use of the required area of hunter orange, but at the same time allows the hunter flexibility in using the hunter orange apparel at the desired time. The present invention solves this need by providing a reversible band, which allows the hunter to expose either camouflage or hunter orange without having to remove the band.
Bands for hunting have been proposed as seals against the ingress of tick, chiggers, and the like into hunter""s boots. These bands are made of camouflage material, and are sized to fit over the top of a hunter""s boot and to seal the boot opening against unwanted insects. The bands are not designed of hunter orange, are not reversible, and are not sized to display the appropriate area of hunter orange to meet local hunting laws.
It is a first object of the present invention to provide an improved hunter orange hunting apparel.
Another object of the invention is to provide hunting apparel that allows a hunter to easily shift between wearing the required amount of hunter orange for hunting, and a camouflage or other hunting-like material in situations where hunter orange apparel is not required.
Another object of the invention is an improved method of hunting wherein the hunter dons the inventive apparel and then inverts it to the desired side.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as a description thereof proceeds.
In one embodiment, the hunting apparel comprises a band having opposing ends and a sidewall, and an outer surface and an inner surface, the outer surface being hunter orange and the inner surface having a camouflage appearance, the outer surface being sized to expose a minimum area of hunter orange to meet hunting law requirements.
The band can be held in place in a number of ways. The sidewall could be made with opposing sides wherein fasteners are used to connect the opposing sides together to form a tubular sidewall and surround a body part of a hunter. Alternatively, one or both opposing ends of the band are elasticized to keep the band in place when surrounding a body part of a hunter. The material of the band can be elasticized to keep the band in place when surrounding a body part of a hunter.
The outer surface can be part of one layer of material, and the inner surface is part of another layer of material.
The band is preferably sized in length and circumference to surround an upper arm part of the hunter, and more particularly, have a length and circumference, wherein the length ranges between about 5 and 10 inches and the circumference ranges between about 15 and 30 inches.
The camouflage appearance can be one of a solid color or a combination of two or more colors.
The invention also entails an improvement in a method of hunting wherein a hunter must don hunter orange apparel. The improvement comprises providing a band having opposing ends and a sidewall, and an outer surface and an inner surface. The outer surface is hunter orange and the inner surface has a camouflage appearance, the outer surface being sized to expose a minimum area of hunter orange to meet hunting law requirements. The band is put on a part of a hunter""s body with either the hunter orange exposed or the camouflage exposed. Then, the band can be inverted so the if the hunter orange is first exposed, the inverting step exposes the camouflage, and if the camouflage is first exposed, the inverting step exposes the hunter orange. The method also entails further inverting the band so that whatever is first exposed is again exposed.
Another set of bands is disclosed which combines school or other institutional colors, wherein one band has one color and the other band has the other color. Further yet, the band can be made of all hunter orange so there is no need to invert the band for a particular look.